Far Away
by illrain666
Summary: Adapted from the 'Days of Future Past' storyline from the comic and crossed with the postX3 movieverse. Kyro
1. Chapter 1

Far Away

_The Future_

Two dark figures stealthily crept along the outside perimeter of the compound. The one in the lead suddenly stopped and held up a fist in warning. His companion stopped moving too, and hurriedly reached out to touch him. Both of them stayed rooted in place as a harsh spotlight passed over them. For several seconds, they were caught in the very middle of its unforgiving glare. But, strangely, no alarm was sounded and the light moved on. The leader then turned to the other one and gestured to the electrically-fortified wall. He held out a gloved hand and his companion grasped it firmly. Together they stepped closer to the wall, and walked right _through_ it, silent as ghosts.

Once they were inside, the other one took the lead. He navigated their way past several boxy buildings, carefully avoiding being spotted by random patrols of heavily-armed men, until they reached the biggest structure within the compound. There were two guards stationed at its entrance. He looked at the leader. The leader nodded though the other one hadn't said a word, and watched as he stepped out of the shadows that had been concealing them. Then he disappeared from sight.

The two guards were swiftly knocked out by an invisible force. The leader, the one who could walk through walls, then came out of hiding and together with his companion, the invisible one, entered the building. No one appeared to stop them as they headed for the lower levels. They found themselves in a long corridor lined with steel doors. There were numbers painted on each door, and they stopped in front of the one that was marked E-811. Holding each other's hand again, they walked through the door.

The door led to a small cell. There was a man sitting in a corner of the cell, and he looked up at the two intruders as they came nearer. When he spoke, his voice sounded raspy from disuse. "Didn't we agree," he said, "that there wouldn't be any crazy rescue attempts?"

The two intruders then took off the masks that covered their faces. The leader turned out to be a woman while her companion was a young man barely in his teens. "I'm glad to see you, too," she said. She knelt before the prisoner and kissed him on the forehead. Her eyes were glistening with tears, but she was smiling. "You look like hell. Oh, John, what did they do to you?"

John Allerdyce, the mutant also known as Pyro, gave her a crooked grin and brushed back a strand of hair that had fallen over her left eye. "I got the star treatment," he told her. "But I feel better now." He slowly got to his feet and nodded gratefully at the young man who quickly came to his side to help him. "Hey, Frankie," he greeted. "This crazy woman managed to talk you into doing this?"

Franklin Richards shrugged. "You know she's hard to resist, man," he remarked.

"Hey, you volunteered for the mission," she reminded him. "You wanted to come along." She used her mutant ability to phase through matter to take off the mechanical collar around Pyro's neck. She threw the device away with a look of distaste on her face.

John smiled at her. "Thank you for rescuing me, Kate Pryde," he said, then added, "though this is probably the stupidest, most reckless thing you've ever done and I'm going to bust your ass about it as soon as we get out of here."

She smirked at him. "You might need these then." She handed him two igniters that were identical to the ones his captors had taken away from him before they threw him into this cell. "I got Forge to make you new ones." She helped him strap the little flamethrowers to his wrists. "Now come on. Let's get moving before they find out we're―" a piercing alarm shattered the quiet, "―here."

With two quick flicks, a stream of fire erupted from each of his igniters. Pyro looked grim. "I'm good to go," he said.

Kate and Franklin nodded at each other. "Plan B," they both said at the same time.

"What's Plan―?" John never got to finish the question. Kate grabbed him and phased them both through the ground as Franklin blew the entire place to hell.

oOo

He knew for a fact that there wouldn't be a welcome party for him once they got back to the tunnels that served as the rebellion's base, but the cold glares that were thrown his way still rankled nevertheless. In the eyes of the few surviving mutants living in a world where their kind were hunted down like animals, he was the devil's accomplice who had helped cause all of their suffering. Though he met their gazes defiantly, his guilt ate at him from within. For he knew that he deserved every bit of their hatred and contempt, and more.

Kate kept a firm grasp on his right arm as they walked past the other rebels. It was her way of letting everyone know that if they wanted a piece of him, then they would have to go through her first. She was leading him to their quarters when their way was blocked by a mutant.

"Wolverine wants to see the three of you," the mutant told them.

Franklin, who had been trailing behind Kate and Pyro, groaned. Kate frowned. "Can't this wait, Jubes?" she asked, sounding vaguely annoyed.

"He wants to see you _now_," Jubilee said firmly

Suppressing a sigh, Kate turned to Pyro. "I'll go talk to him. I'll tell him you need to rest first, then you'll see him."

"No." He sighed and shook his head. "Might as well get it over with."

The three of them then followed Jubilee to Wolverine's quarters. The leader of the rebellion scowled when he saw them. "Go," he ordered Jubilee and she left. "So, what excuse do you have for this?" he demanded of the three younger mutants. From the expression on his face, they could clearly see that he was restraining himself from tearing their heads off.

Kate spoke in their defense. "I convinced Franklin to help me rescue John," she told Wolverine. "I know that I went against your orders and I know that what I did would only make the Sentinels hunt us down more rabidly than ever, but you know that there was no way you could have possibly stopped me from trying to get him back. And you may not like to admit it, but the fact is that John happens to be one of the best soldiers we have and the rebellion needs him alive."

Wolverine stared at her. "You're a fool," he said to Kate after several minutes of astonished silence. "He's not worth it." Then he glowered at Franklin. "And you're a little idiot who should have known better than to go along with this. Go! I want you morons out of my sight!"

A very audible sigh of relief came from Franklin Richards. The three of them turned to leave. "Pyro," Wolverine's voice stopped them on their way to the door. John faced the older mutant. "Next time you get caught by one of those goddamned Sentinels," Wolverine said, "make sure that they kill you right away. I don't want any of my people risking their lives to save worthless scum like you ever again."

He didn't reply. He merely followed Kate out of the door. They parted ways with Franklin and headed for their quarters.

Kate fumbled in the dark for some candles and John lit them. As she set the candles in little tin cups and arranged them around the room, he looked around the place that had been their home for the past few years. It was ragged and smelly, and he was so sick of it that he wanted to burn it to ashes. But, as he watched Kate moving in the squalid little space, he knew that there was nowhere else he would rather be. However, the fact that she had to stay in the sewers when she deserved so much better than the fate that life had dealt her made him want to rage and weep. Because it was his fault, of course. All of it was his fault.

"Can you help me heat up some water?" she asked him. He complied and, soon, she was busy fussing over him as she cleaned the wounds he had sustained during his time as a guest of the Sentinels. "I really hope these don't get infected," she said with a grimace. "We're running low on meds. We have to go on another run soon."

Without a word, he suddenly grabbed her hands. Reverently, he kissed her palms, her wrists, then he kissed the base of her throat, her neck, and, finally, he kissed her mouth. The kiss lasted for a long, sweet time. When he tasted the salt of her tears, he gently pulled away and stared at her face.

"I love you, John," she said.

He closed his eyes. It was a miracle. It was amazing that in a world that had gone insane, this beautiful fragile thing, this precious gift, still existed. And he realized, with a bitter pang, that he had no right to lay claim to it. He didn't deserve such a grace. He opened his eyes and met her gaze. She looked nervous as she waited for his reaction to her words.

"You can take it back, you know," he told her, hating himself for what he was saying. "I won't mind."

Her expression became shuttered. "Why?" she asked, her voice carefully emotionless. "You think I don't mean it?"

"No." He shook his head. "It's just that, I mean, if things didn't work out, you might regret saying it. Then it's okay if you want to take it back."

She looked away from him. "Things have been working just fine for the past two years," she said. "Why can't you just―?" She sighed. "Forget it. It's okay." She turned her back on him. "You should get some rest." She stood up.

"Where are you going?" he wondered.

"I don't think I'll be getting much sleep tonight. I'm gonna go on watch."

"Kate, come on," he called after her. "Kate! Kitty, please!"

She glanced back at him. "It's okay, John. Really," she assured him. "I was actually expecting it." Then she was gone.

John cursed himself for being a fool. He had hurt her. She had offered him something infinitely priceless and he had thrown it back in her face. He had always known that she was too good for him, and this new example of callousness had confirmed it once more. He thought about going after her and apologizing for his stupidity. But a bone-deep tiredness had crept upon him while he was castigating himself for his behavior. He just needed to rest for a while and then he would talk to Kate again. He would tell her that he was sorry and that she meant more to him than he could ever say. But, for now, he would rest.

He slept.

oOo

The sounds of explosions and screams woke him up. He threw on some clothes and strapped his igniters to his wrists within minutes. Total chaos greeted him out in the tunnels. He grabbed a mutant rushing past him and demanded, "What the hell is going on?"

"Sentinels!" the mutant shouted in panic. "They're attacking us!" He then pushed John out of his way and fled.

John's first thought was that he had to find Kate and get her out of here. But he had no idea where she was. He started to run through the tunnels, shouting out her name and hoping that she would hear him. "Kate! Kate!"

"Pyro!" He turned to see Franklin running towards him. The young mutant looked frightened. It suddenly struck John that Franklin was actually little more than a boy. He was one of the most powerful mutants John had ever met, but he was also an orphan who had been forced to grow up fast by the harshness of their existence. "Franklin!" John shouted. "Do you know where Kate is? Can you find Kate?"

Franklin concentrated and performed a quick telepathic scan of the tunnels. "She's with Wolverine!" he reported. "They're fighting the Sentinels above us, in the old subway!"

"Let's go!" John took the lead, with Franklin only a step behind him. They hadn't gone far when an enormous robotic fist suddenly punched through the ceiling and barred their way. The fist was then withdrawn and a Sentinel peered down at the two of them. "Fuck!" John swore and immediately unleashed a blast of fire at the machine. Dimly, he heard his companion yell out a battlecry and a burst of raw telekinetic power sliced the Sentinel's head clean off its body. "Come on!" Franklin screamed and they continued on their way.

When they arrived at the subway, they saw that Wolverine and the other mutants fighting alongside him were being beaten back by the sheer number of the invading Sentinels. It was a lost battle and, when Wolverine realized it, he gave the order to retreat. John, though, only cared about finding Kate. "Jubilee! Where's Kate?" he asked the first mutant whose attention he was able to catch.

"I saw her fighting over there!" Jubilee pointed somewhere to her right.

He saw her then.

But she wasn't fighting, not anymore. She was simply lying on the ground, broken. The whole world faded away as John went to her side. "Kate?" He said her name in a whisper. "Kitty?" He took her into his arms. "Kate, you can't do this," he begged her. "You have to come back. You have to stay. Stay with me." But she didn't stir.

"John!" The world came rushing back when Franklin suddenly grabbed him. "John, we have to go! Pyro, come on!"

He refused to let her go. He held on to her so tightly that Franklin finally had to use his powers so John would release Kate's body. He went crazy then. He tried to strangle Franklin, screaming incoherently all the while. The other mutant then punched him. That seemed to make him come to his senses. Franklin looked at him with sympathy. "John, we have to go," he repeated. He allowed his friend to pull him up to his feet. It was the last thing he remembered clearly because the next few days were a meaningless blur. He knew that they had managed to escape from the Sentinels somehow and that Wolverine had led them to another temporary refuge. But the only thing that was real to him was the memory of her face, dead and still.

Franklin took care of him, forced him to eat, kept him from completely wasting away. Jubilee came to see him just once. She didn't say a word. She just struck him as hard as she could and stared at him with loathing. Wolverine, though, didn't even bother to take the time to kill him. As far as the old mutant was concerned, Pyro was too contemptible to be worth the effort.

"John? Are you listening to me?"

Franklin had been talking, telling him something, but he hadn't heard a word. He had no idea how long the other mutant had been standing before him trying to get his attention. "I think there's a way to fix this," Franklin said. "I think there's a way to get her back."

That sunk in enough for him to look at the young man. "What do you mean?" he asked hoarsely.

"I've been―experimenting. There's something that I found out I could do a while ago, but I haven't told anyone about it because I'm not very good at it yet. And they'd probably think that I'm insane. But it's real. It works. At least, I think so." Franklin fidgeted nervously as he told John about the new ability he had developed.

"You can send your mind back in time?" John said. He wanted to be sure that he had understood correctly.

"Yeah," Franklin hesitantly admitted. "I was there, you know. When Magneto attacked Washington and started this whole thing. I was with my mom. She told me to wait in a room for her when the explosions started, and I just waited and waited. But she never came back. And I've been trying all this time to see if I could somehow get back to that time so I could keep her with me."

"I'll kill you if you're fucking with me," John told him. He felt sorry for what the kid had experienced, yet another thing he had to be guilty about, but if he was lying about this―

"I'm not! I swear I can do it! I just have to keep practicing, like you taught me, so I can use the ability better. So far I've only been able to go back a day."

"Can you send someone else back? Like me?" He suddenly grabbed Franklin as his eyes filled with a crazed hope.

"I don't know! I've never tried it!" Franklin now looked like he regretted telling John about his newfound power.

"You have to try it! You have to make it work! Send me back!" John shouted.

"I'll do what I can," Franklin promised. He looked at John with pity. "I'll help you save Kate. I'll send you back before she dies."

"No." He shook his head. "_Before_ that. Long before. Send me back to stop _all of this_ from ever happening."


	2. Chapter 2

Far Away

_The Past_

They watched the news in a state of horrified silence. They were all that remained of the X-Men now, and they were a sad, battered-looking group after all that they had gone through over the past few years.

Ororo Munroe, Storm, served as the leader of the team and the headmistress of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Though she was careful to always appear in control, there was no denying that signs of strain were becoming more evident in her appearance day by day. Her white hair, once so exotic against her dark skin, now looked more like the tresses of a much older woman exhausted by the harshness of living. By her side was Logan, the Wolverine. The fierce warrior had more or less settled down into his role as Storm's second-in-command, but decades of watching out for only himself were hard to fight and disregard entirely. He still had trouble relating to others and there were times when he obviously resented being thrust into the mold of an adult responsible for so many young lives.

The younger generation of X-Men were equally troubled. Bobby Drake, Iceman, had not been the same since fighting in the Battle of Alcatraz. He had come back to the mansion to find his girlfriend, Rogue, gone with no explanation. He knew that she had wanted to take the serum that would strip her of her deadly power, but he didn't know if she had actually done it or where she might be now. Any search he tried to undertake was met with failure, and the uncertainty and worry over her fate were taking their toll on him. Another face that showed an incredible amount of strain belonged to Kitty Pryde, Shadowcat. The quiet young girl was now more subdued than ever, often spending days without speaking to anyone. It was as if she was continually looking inward at a little horror show that only she could see, and it was taking her farther away from everyone with every minute.

Though he still smiled as often as he used to, Peter Rasputin, Colossus, now had a darkness in his eyes that was not present before. His calm strength was one of the things that the team could count on, but they all knew that he had his limits as well, and leaning on him for too hard and too long could end up hurting him just as badly as they were hurting. The group's new member, Warren Worthington, may not have been around during the attack on the school and the terror-filled days that followed it, but he had the demons of his own insecurities and experiences to contend with. So he was as badly wounded as they were on certain levels.

The only member not present in the headmistress' study was Hank McCoy, the Beast. He was in Washington, fighting as he had done for over a year against the proposed Sentinel Act, the latest threat against mutant rights and equality. A Senator Graydon Creed had come up with the plan to protect humans against the "mutant threat", and it involved policing dangerous mutants through the use of robotic enforcers called Sentinels. Unfortunately, in the Senator's eyes, "dangerous mutants" meant _all_ mutants, and there were very real concerns that the Act could eventually lead to the creation of ghettos where mutants would be kept apart from the human populace. And from ghettos, it wasn't too much of a stretch to imagine the establishment of concentration camps.

On the television they were watching now, images of fire and mayhem played alongside a reporter's breathless narration of the events that had led to the massive outbreak of prisoners from the government's premier maximum security holding facility. All the escapees had been depowered mutants.

"God help us." Storm was the first to speak. "This could not have happened at a worse time, not when the Senate is about to vote on the Sentinel Act."

"You think this would make those Washington lackeys push that Act through?" Logan asked. "Why should it? The ones who escaped were depowered by the cure."

"I hope for all our sake that the Senators take that into account when they make their decision." Ororo looked very worried. "But let's not forget that most of the fugitives were the same people that attacked Alcatraz. If Hank hadn't protested, and if mutant rights activists hadn't marched right up to the Capitol, they would have been executed instead of imprisoned."

"But would this breakout really justify passing the Sentinel Act?" Bobby wondered. "They can't subject all mutants to policing just because a few are criminals."

"They can, if they wish," Warren said. "I'm sure Senator Creed would make a good case for doing so."

"We'll just have to hope for the best for now concerning the Sentinel Act," Storm said. "But we have to do something about those escapees. They may not have powers anymore, but they can still be very dangerous. And desperate."

"We're on alert then," Wolverine pronounced. "Everyone needs to be ready to move out at the first sign of trouble, both inside and outside the school. We'll probably be putting out fires started by those bastards for days before they can be rounded up again."

The rest of the team nodded in agreement. After a few more minutes of flipping channels and watching similar news stories, they decided to attend to their other duties for now while they waited for further developments. The men filed out first and Kitty was almost out of the door when Ororo called her back. "Can I have a few minutes?" she asked the younger woman.

"Of course, Miss Munroe." Kitty sat back down on her place on the couch and looked up at her teacher expectantly.

Storm gave her a warm smile. "How are you these days? I haven't had the chance to talk to you for a while."

She shrugged. "I'm doing okay."

"You know that if there's anything, anything at all, that you want to talk about, or need, you can tell me. Okay? I know we've asked so much of you students that, sometimes, we end up forgetting that we're supposed to be taking care of you." Storm looked incredibly sad for a moment as she stared at Kitty. Then she made herself smile again. "When that happens, feel free to bonk me on the head," she joked and, just as she hoped, that earned her a weak chuckle from Kitty.

"I'll keep that in mind," Kitty promised.

"Okay then. Well, I'll let you go about your schoolwork."

Kitty smiled at her briefly then left. Ororo gazed unseeingly into the distance for several moments as she felt all the weight of her responsibilities threaten to overwhelm her. Then she straightened. There was a job that needed to be done, and though she often wished these days that the duty had never fallen to her, she was going to do it the best way she knew how. She owed it to the Professor, to Jean, to Scott, everyone she had ever counted on who were now lost to her.


	3. Chapter 3

Far Away

_The Past_

He stared at the dark mansion before him. It had taken him two days―two whole days of precious time to travel to Westchester―but he was finally here. He would have wanted to arrive at the point when Magneto and his younger self were already in Washington, but Franklin's control over the transfer wasn't as fine-tuned as he would have liked. Instead, he had slipped into his body while he was still in prison. Then he had simply waited until the break out occurred and he had made his way to Magneto's side once again.

Just as he remembered, the old man had shared his plans for the assassination of the Senate on the day they were to vote on the Sentinel Act. And, just as it had happened in his past before, he had been instructed to get to Washington on his own and wait for the signal to strike. Except he had decided to go on a detour. He had thought it through very carefully, and he had realized that it simply wouldn't be enough to prevent the assassination from happening. The horrible future that he had lived through could still become a reality if the threat presented by the Sentinels was not eliminated. And he needed help if his own plans were going to work.

So here he was, staring at the mansion that had been his home for a few years, and wishing fervently that he was somewhere else. Because if he was actually going to do what he needed to do, go in there and ask the X-Men for their help, then that would mean he would have to face _her_. And he wasn't sure if he could do that without getting his guts ripped out.

"Man up," he muttered to himself in disgust. "Now or never." Then, taking a deep fortifying breath, he readied himself to storm the castle.

oOo

The sound of the intruder alarm woke Kitty from her uneasy sleep. Outside her quarters, she could hear the sounds of frightened students as they moved down the hallways in a rush to get to their designated safe rooms. "Oh, God, not again," she prayed, but God apparently wasn't listening since the deep wail of the intruder alarm was soon joined by the shrill ringing of the fire detectors. Quickly throwing on a jacket over her pajamas and slipping her feet into sneakers, she phased through the door of her room and saw that the younger kids were more or less moving in an organized manner and the hallway monitors were doing their work. She made sure everyone was accounted for then, since they apparently were handling things well enough and didn't need her help, she proceeded to take up the defensive position that had been assigned to her when Storm and Wolverine came up with the emergency response plan for events such as this one.

Walking over to a painting hanging on the wall, she shifted it out of the way to reveal a small locker. She typed in the combination on its dialpad and opened it to grab an in-ear communicator and a modified stun gun. She checked both to make sure they were functioning and reported in. "Shadowcat in position. Evacuation of Grid E10005 complete." A few seconds later, she heard similar reports from Iceman, Angel, and Colossus.

"Scans show we've got one intruder moving in your area, Angel," Storm informed them through their communicators. She sounded oddly puzzled. "That's it. Just _one_. Wolverine is headed there now and I want everyone on the move as well. Something's weird about this."

Kitty started walking towards Angel's sector before Storm finished talking. Her heart was pounding hard from the rush of adrenaline and fear moving through her body. She phased through the rooms in her way so she could get there faster. All the while, she prayed silently that she wasn't going to find a soldier like the ones that had assaulted the mansion a few years ago. A soldier would mean that some government agency was again behind this intrusion, and that would only spell more trouble for the school once more. "I wish so much right now that it's gonna be just a burglar," she said under her breath.

Angel heard her and he chuckled. "If it's a burglar, he's gonna be in for one hell of a―" his voice cut off abruptly and there was the sound of a loud thud as something, or someone, collided with him. Angel gave out a yell that hurt her ears and Kitty broke into a panicky run to help him. She could hear the other X-Men calling Angel's name as they also ran to his aid. Their communicators picked up the sounds of a struggle. There was a crash and Angel grunted in pain.

Kitty emerged from a wall and halted abruptly at the sight of Warren trying to fight off the intruder, who was attacking ferociously. She aimed the stun gun at the stranger and shouted, "Hey, asshole!" He turned at the sound of her voice and, as their eyes met at the moment she pulled the trigger, Kitty realized with a little shock that she was looking at John Allerdyce.

"Kate!" he gasped. Then he twitched and collapsed.

oOo

His head pounded painfully as he slowly became aware of voices speaking near him. He couldn't make sense out of what they were saying at first then, gradually, bits and pieces of meaning became understandable.

"... want to question him first before we turn him over to the police. Maybe Magneto's planning something that we should know."

He tried to move, but his arms and legs wouldn't obey him, and he realized that he was tied up. He also couldn't see very well. There seemed to be some sort of film over his eyes making everything look blurry. Didn't the Sentinels do this to him before? Or was it before? When did it happen again? "Kate!" he suddenly screamed in a panic. Where was she? Didn't she come to get him? She was supposed to save him! Wait, she did save him. He called out her name again.

"Shut up!" His head rolled back as someone struck him hard. He blinked several times and, slowly, his vision cleared. He found himself looking at Logan's face. He seemed younger somehow. Then his eyes wandered and he made out Bobby's angry scowl, a guy looking like a Terminator who was kind of familiar, someone with wings, Miss Munroe and her white hair, then―His heart stopped for a second. And he remembered everything.

"H-help." His voice sounded raspy and he had to swallow several times before his throat stopped feeling so tight. "I need your help."

They ignored his words. "Why did you attack the school, Pyro?" Miss Munroe asked instead.

"Did not attack." He shook his head in denial. He was still feeling slightly disoriented. "Broke in, but there were alarms. Then that guy," he glanced at Warren, "had a gun. Had to fight." He took several deep breaths to try to still the pounding in his temples. "I need your help," he then repeated. "Something bad's gonna go down in Washington. Have to stop it."

That got their full attention. "What are you talking about?" Wolverine demanded.

He told them. But not everything. He told them that the cure wasn't permanent, that Magneto had been building up his strength and recovering his powers in secret. He told them about the plot that the Brotherhood was putting into action. He even told them about Magneto's calculated move that the assassination would cause the Sentinel Act to be passed and how the Brotherhood would then use it as an excuse to rally other mutants to their side and declare all-out war against humans. But he didn't tell them about the day the Sentinels went online and started rounding up mutants, how a lot of the mutants had resisted and fought back until the robots simply massacred them all. In his mind, he could clearly see the chaos and violence that had broken out all over the country after that event. So many people had died during the first wave of the Sentinel offensive, and it was during those dark days that he had finally begun to realize the enormity of the mistakes he had made. He knew that the X-Men would have a hard enough time believing him about the assassination plan without also learning about the future he had come from and seen. As he spoke, his eyes often drifted to her. Kate. No. Kitty. She was Kitty here, in this place and time. God, she looked so young. And she was staring at him without that expression that he had eventually gotten used to in his future, like he was someone she believed in and trusted. Right now, she was looking at him like he was her enemy. It shouldn't have, but it stung him anyway.

"Say that we believe you," Bobby said grimly, "say that Magneto really has regained his powers and is planning to assassinate the Senate, what do you care about it? You're his number one rabid dog. I think you'd be falling right in line to help him with his plans."

"Not this plan." He was almost on the verge of begging them to believe him. "It's too big, and the consequences―a lot of people are gonna die. The future isn't gonna be what it should be for anyone."

Storm had been silent all this time, now she stiffened as she came to a decision. "We inform Hank about this," she said. "He'll tell the right people in the government. And we take the proper precautions."

"You don't believe him?" Bobby looked upset. "He could be lying. Or it could all be some kind of trap."

"Even if it is a trap, we can't risk leaving the lives of people in danger," Storm declared, to which they all had to agree. "He's right about one thing. This is too big and the potential consequences are enormous. We need to make sure that Magneto doesn't accomplish whatever it is that he intends to do. We leave for Washington tonight. The Senate is voting on the Sentinel Act tomorrow."


	4. Chapter 4

Far Away

_The Past_

He was looking at her again. No. He was staring. She found it extremely unnerving. Kitty shifted in her seat and nervously adjusted her safety belt for what felt like the hundredth time and looked everywhere but at Pyro. He was carefully restrained by several security locks and manacles in the Blackbird's hold, but she still wasn't reassured that he wouldn't try anything. She had been given the job to watch over him for a few minutes while the others were preoccupied with other work and it seemed like time was stretching to eternity as she waited to be relieved of her duty. Inwardly, she scolded herself for being so rattled. She had faced down bigger foes than him in Alcatraz and lived to not want to speak of it to anyone, so a little fire manipulator shouldn't be so scary. But he was. Especially with the way he kept looking at her. Finally, she snapped and decided to just confront him about it.

"Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

His mouth tightened. "Like what?" He actually had the gall to pretend he didn't know what she meant.

"Like, I don't know, you have the right to look at me." She cursed herself when she realized that sounded stupid.

He shrugged. "You look like someone I know," he told her.

She couldn't help but roll her eyes at him. "I am someone you know," she retorted. "We went to the same school before you joined the Brotherhood, remember?"

"Yeah. I remember." His face looked bleak all of a sudden. "We never really talked about school days."

Kitty frowned. That was an odd thing for him to say. "Maybe because we didn't have anything in common," she replied.

"Yeah." He nodded. "I guess it would take the end of the world as we know it before you'd give a guy like me the time of day."

Another weird statement. She chose to ignore that one and instead ask the question that had been burning in her mind the whole time. "Why are you really doing this? Why are you working against Magneto?"

His mouth twisted in a bitter-looking smile. "Maybe I wanna be a hero and save the girl."

"Don't you mean save the world?"

"By extension, I guess."

She was getting exasperated by the strange turns he was taking in their conversation. "Listen, Pyro―" she was about to tell him off, but he interrupted her.

"John. My name is John. Call me that."

She sighed. "All right. John. Listen, if you don't wanna tell me why you're doing this, that's fine, as long as you're not planning to betray us in some way. We are fighting every day to get humans to accept us, but guys like you just destroy everything we're trying to build without a thought for the future. I know that the different sides in this conflict aren't perfect, including our own, but we are trying to overcome that and reach out to others so the fear and the hatred would stop. I know you don't wanna listen to me preaching at you right now but, when I look at you, I remember that you learned the same things I did in school, the same things that the Professor taught me. So I don't understand why it came to this, that I'm here, you're there, and we're on opposite sides. And I hate that I'm scared of you, I hate that I can't trust you, and you don't know how much I wish to God that you're right about what you told us and we can actually stop Magneto." She gasped and abruptly put a halt to the flood of words that had come pouring out of her. Until she said them, she hadn't realized how confused and afraid she was about what was happening. She was going to have to go into battle again, and it was going to be worse than Alcatraz. She didn't think she had enough of the strength to deal with more horrors. She bit back a sob.

"Kat―Kitty," he said her name softly, reassuringly. "I swear, tomorrow, we're gonna stop him. Please believe me." He felt so impotent with those useless, meaningless words on his tongue that didn't even come close to what he really wanted to say to her. For a moment, he actually thought about telling her the whole truth, telling her what he felt. But he couldn't. He was bound by his own lies of omission.

She gave him a sad little smile. "You seem very sure of that."

"Because I have to be. Because the future has got to be better somehow."

"And what's this future like exactly?" She wouldn't really believe anything he said, but he knew she wanted to be comforted. Kate had been just like that.

"Not perfect," he said honestly. "But you'd be happy and safe."

"And what about you? Would we be friends in this future?"

"No," he shook his head. "You wouldn't waste your time being friends with a guy like me. We'd be strangers."

She regarded him silently for a moment. "No. I'd like to think that I would know you."

She was just being kind, he told himself. That was why she said that. But he couldn't help feel a sliver of hope.

oOo

Hank met them in an airfield just outside of Washington. He seemed to have half the army with him. He went inside the Blackbird with a few officers and they listened as Pyro repeated what he had told the X-Men about Magneto's plan. They asked him a lot of questions until they were finally satisfied. Then more soldiers came onboard and started to escort him out. That was when he realized that they were going to take him into custody. He wouldn't be able to do what he came to do if he was locked up again. He struggled against them, but it was no use. They simply knocked him out.

Storm stared after Pyro's unconscious form as they bundled him up in a fortified van. She looked uneasy. "Is it really a good idea to keep him in a cell at this time?"

"He's a fugitive and one of the most dangerous mutants alive," one of the military officers said. "He should be put back in his cage as soon as possible. We don't need him as an unpredictable variable if we want to make it through this day."

"Miss Munroe," another officer addressed Storm, "in light of the assistance your team provided to the government in Alcatraz, I have been instructed to ask you to give us the same help today. We could use all the assets we can throw against Magneto and his Brotherhood."

She nodded. "Of course. We'd be glad to help." Together with Hank and Wolverine, she started conferring with the officers on their battle plans.


	5. Chapter 5

Far Away

_The Past_

He wanted to scream and kick out in rage as he struggled against his restraints. But his guards just ignored him. This was not good. They were taking him away from the one place he should be in order to complete his mission. He had failed. It didn't matter even if the X-Men successfully foiled Magneto. Someday, the Sentinels would still go online and the world would still burn. Kate would still die. At that thought, he did finally scream. "Let me go! I have to stop what's coming! Just let me go, you bastards!"

The guards still didn't say anything, but one of them moved to knock him out again. That never happened though because the van suddenly lurched to a halt, throwing the soldiers unceremoniously to the floor. Then the doors were ripped away by an incredible force. He didn't dare to hope but, yes, it was indeed a rescue. Magneto came into view and he saw that the old man was smiling at him. "Pyro," he sounded surprised but pleased. "How careless of you to get captured." When the guards tried to shoot him, he quickly deflected their bullets back at them.

"How―?" His mouth was dry. "How did you know where to find me?" In his head, he was frantic. If the old man had figured out his betrayal, he would soon be as dead as the guards.

"An armored escort traveling in Washington at dawn is a curious sight. Especially today. And, of course, I had noted that a considerable force of soldiers were moved out and deployed outside of the city earlier. They seem to be expecting trouble to breach the borders. Unfortunately for them, it's already here."

"They nabbed me just as I got here," he quickly lied, praying that he was convincing. "They were going to take me someplace where I could be questioned."

"Then it's a good thing I decided to satisfy my curiosity. Are you still able to do your part of the plan or should I do it for you as well?" A tinge of sarcasm crept into Magneto's voice.

"No." He shook his head. "I can do it. I'm ready."

"Very well." Magneto made a gesture and his restraints snapped free. "We shall see each other in the Capitol."

He nodded his agreement and they went their separate ways, each with his own plans to change the future.

oOo

"Mommy, I wanna go! I wanna see the zoo. You promised!" The little boy sitting beside Kitty kept fidgeting in his seat and his mother smiled apologetically at her. Kitty thought that she looked kind of familiar, like someone famous. "I'm sorry. He's usually better behaved," she said then turned a stern look on her son. "Frankie, please. I told you this was gonna take a while, but you insisted on coming with me."

"I wanna go!" he suddenly screeched. All eyes in the gallery, as well as several from the chamber below, fixed on the young mother and her child. She gave an embarrassed little laugh. "I'm so sorry about this."

An aide suddenly appeared by the woman's side. "Dr. Richards? Perhaps you'd like some assistance?" Flustered and more embarrassed than ever, the woman nodded and stood up, her son's little hand clasped firmly in hers. Just before they left, the boy suddenly turned to Kitty and said, "You should go, too."

She was startled. There was a look in his eyes that was strangely old for someone so young. She glanced up at his mother but the woman just blushed. "That's enough," she scolded. The two of them then left with the aide.

Kitty checked her watch. It was almost ten-thirty and there was still no sign of Magneto's attack. Idly, she wondered where the soldiers had taken Pyro. For a moment there, while they were talking in the Blackbird, he had stopped being the scary and dangerous terrorist she knew he was and just seemed like a weary young man who had aged too fast. She wondered if maybe he had thought the same thing about her―because he had said strange yet comforting words that made her feel like he understood her so well.

But her reverie was cut short when an explosion suddenly boomed and the building shook. She instantly got to her feet, her entire body tensed for action. The attack had begun.

oOo

He fought his way through the chaos that had broken out in the building. He had to find her, get to her. He knew she was somewhere in here. The skin on his back where he had strapped the gun felt cold and clammy as he continued his search. He didn't much like guns, but he was willing to use any weapon he could get his hands on if it meant he could save the future.

He was running down a hallway when a door suddenly burst open and a squad of security personnel ushered out a familiar face. Senator Graydon Creed. He was shoved back against the wall and out of the way as the Senator was rushed to safety, and he didn't make a move to stop them. No. The Senator wasn't his target, not this time around. His wasn't the mind that would ultimately create and program the Sentinels. Once they were past him, he moved again to find his real prey.

oOo

"All Senate members have been evacuated," Kitty reported into her communicator. "I'm coming out to join you." Her job here was done. She had been tasked to help out and make sure the Senators would be escorted to safety once the attack started, and the Secret Service agents had done their work admirably. Now she was moving to where she could aid the other X-Men in keeping Magneto occupied as the Senators completed their getaway.

Her run was brought to a halt when she turned a corner and saw Pyro pulling up an unsteady woman to her feet. She quickly recognized the woman as the mother with the misbehaving child earlier. She must have been knocked down by one of the many explosions that had rocked the building and she looked like she was unaware of her surroundings. Blood streamed from a cut on her forehead.

Kitty could not believe her eyes when Pyro then aimed a gun at the woman's head. "What are you doing?" she gasped in shock.

He looked stricken when he noticed her presence. "You wouldn't understand if I told you." He sounded like something inside of him was breaking. "But she _has_ to die. Without her, the Sentinel program won't exist."

"You can't do this. You can't stop the fighting this way. This isn't how you make a better future." She was appalled.

He stared at her for a long moment, then his face hardened with resolve. "As long as I save you."

"Please, no." The woman finally seemed to understand what was going on. For a few seconds, Kitty thought her form faded as if she was turning invisible, but then she dropped weakly to the floor. "My son," she said. "He's waiting for me."

Pyro then looked down at his intended victim with an expression of dawning horror in his eyes. What he would have done next Kitty could only wonder because, suddenly, two spots of red bloomed on his chest. He opened his mouth to try to say something, but no words came. Instead, he fell to his knees.

"Kate," he managed to breathe out one last time. Then his eyes went dark.


	6. Chapter 6

Far Away

_Another time, another place_

Franklin sat very straight in the chair his mother had told him to sit on before she left. There was a buzzing in his ears from all the explosions he had heard earlier and he was very scared. But he had promised to stay here and wait for her, so he hadn't moved even when he just wanted to run out of the room and find her. So he waited. And waited.

Then the door opened and she was there and she looked awful, but he had been so sure that she would never come back yet here she was, and he just flew into her arms where he sobbed in relief.

oOo

He opened his eyes and saw light filling the world. It took a few minutes before his sight adjusted and he realized that he was looking at sunlight streaming through billowing white curtains. He was lying on a soft bed and he felt completely rested.

"Hey, sleepyhead," a voice murmured in his ear, and he smiled when he recognized it.

"Go back to sleep," he pretended to grumble. "We've got all the time in the world."

The End


End file.
